Loving the Right Brother

“Did you—”

Brody knew what she was going to ask. “No, can’t take the credit for this,” he told her. “Sydney, Marta, Alison, Lily and some of the other women from town pitched in to clean this up, just in case you wanted to stay here.”

He didn’t add that it had been his initial suggestion to Dr. Shayne Kerrigan’s wife that had gotten the ball rolling. Remembering how she had felt when she had first come to Hades and had seen the chaotic condition of Shayne’s house, Sydney had instantly gotten her friends together to restore order in the abandoned residence.

Irena eyed him, puzzled. “I don’t know any of them.” Why would total strangers do something like this for her?

Again, he could see the unspoken question in her eyes. Ten years and he could read her like a book. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Did you forget how neighborly everyone is here?” he asked her.

She had a nodding acquaintance with her neighbors back in Seattle, but for the most part, she didn’t even know their names and they didn’t know hers. Anonymity was something she had come to take for granted.

“I suppose I did.” Her eyes swept over the living room again, remembering happy times. She didn’t realize that she was smiling now. “This is wonderful. You’ve got to introduce me to Sydney and the others so I can thank them properly.”

He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed just watching her react to things. He’d loved her innocence, her naïveté back then. There was still a glimmer of the girl she used to be in the woman she had become. The discovery warmed him. “No problem. You’ll probably meet them at the Salty Dog tonight.”

“Excuse me?” She had no real firm plans, other than seeing her grandfather and going to the funeral parlor where Ryan was laid out.

“Another thing you forgot,” Brody observed, amused. “The people here like to throw parties to welcome people when they come to Hades,” he told her, watching her face for any signs that she remembered what he was talking about.

She recalled the tradition, but it didn’t apply to her. “But I’m not staying long,” she reminded him.

“Doesn’t matter. There’s still going to be a party. Lily’s been cooking all day.” The look on her face told him she needed another clarification. “Lily runs the main restaurant here.”

“Ike’s got competition?” As she recalled, the Salty Dog Saloon offered simple meals to its patrons, which virtually included the entire population of Hades.

“He couldn’t begin to compete with Lily’s,” Brody told her. “The restaurant Lily ran in Seattle won awards.”

“Then what’s she doing here?”

“Being in love,” Brody told her simply. “Lily married Max, the sheriff.”

“Oh, right, April told me that,” she recalled.

Brody looked down at her hand again. “Okay, I told you why I’m not married.” And, since he was baring his soul, he had the right to ask her a question. “Now it’s your turn. Why are you still single?”

Irena shrugged, pretending to look around the house some more. She really didn’t like talking about herself. They had that in common, she recalled. “Same reason.”

“Too busy helping the less fortunate?” he guessed, tongue in cheek.

Irena laughed. This time, she looked at him. “No, wise guy, too busy with work to take the time to socialize.”

That was only part of it. He still had the ability to know when she was lying. “Oh, I thought maybe it had something to do with the way Ryan thoughtlessly broke your heart.”

She shrugged again, uncomfortable with the way Brody had honed in on the reason. She wasn’t used to blatant honesty anymore. It pleased her that Brody could still see through her smoke screen and lies.

“There was some of that, too,” she admitted. Then, because they verged on an uncomfortable topic, she turned the conversation back to him. “So, what is it that you do to ‘help the less fortunate,’ exactly?”

He saw through her but knew when not to push. Irena could get extremely stubborn if she was pushed.

“Whatever it takes.” He smiled as he thought about what he had managed to organize. “There’s an impressive network here in Hades. Sydney and Marta volunteer some of their free time to help teach some of the Native American children who have fallen behind, get their grades up to par. Dr. Shayne, his brother Ben and Dr. Jimmy, April’s husband, as well as Alyson, who’s a nurse-practitioner at the clinic—and Jimmy’s sister—” he added as a sidebar, trying to educate her about the dynamics in Hades as he went along “—volunteer some of their so-called free time to help treat the families on the reservation. I reimburse them for the medicines as much as I’m able.”

He was being modest, as always. Brody always did play down his part in things, but she knew better. She had no doubt that he was the mover and the shaker behind all this, knew that while the others might have had good intentions, it was Brody who had organized them and turned them into a well-oiled machine.

How different Brody was from his late brother. Ryan had wanted nothing more from life than to have a good time. That involved women and alcohol and a great deal of indulgence. Brody’s idea of a good time was helping others.

“You should take some time for yourself,” she urged when he finished telling her about the program he had going.

“I get a lot of pleasure doing what I do, knowing that in some small way, because of me a kid didn’t have to go to bed hungry tonight. Knowing that because I hooked him up to Shayne or Jimmy or Ben, another sick kid will get the treatment he needs in order to get well.”

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at him. “Very noble, Brody.”

But he shook his head. “Not noble, just right,” he corrected.

Irena stopped wandering around the immaculate house and turned to look at him. He had sounded so somber just now. As if he was on some kind of a solemn mission. She could only think of one thing that would make him feel like that. “Are you trying to make up for your brother and father?”

That would take two lifetimes, Brody thought. At least. Most likely, more.

He shook his head. “Just trying to do my fair share, that’s all.” He debated saying the next words, then decided that he had nothing to lose. “If you want, the next time I go to the Kenaitze village, you’re welcome to come with me.”

“I’d like that,” she said, then felt she needed to qualify her answer. “If I’m still here.”

He inclined his head. “That was understood.” It was getting dark within the house. He started to cross to the nearest light switch on the wall, then stopped. He looked at Irena over his shoulder. There was a big, gray flagstone fireplace in the living room. “I can light a fire in the fireplace if you’d like,” he offered.

She glanced at the fireplace. Her father had toasted marshmallows with her there one year. Marshmallows had never tasted so good.

“It sounds wonderfully cozy,” she acknowledged.

He picked up the note of slight hesitation in her voice and interpreted it. “But you really need to get going.”

So far, he’d guessed everything right. It didn’t surprise her. Her smile began in her eyes. “Still clairvoyant, I see.”

“Just with certain people.” Actually, the only one he seemed to be in sync with was her, but he refrained from mentioning that. He didn’t want her getting the wrong idea. Or, in this case, the right one.

“Am I that transparent?” she asked. Her laugh rang a little flat to her ears.

Brody was quick to reassure her. “I just know how you think. Nice to know that some things haven’t changed.”

“I don’t imagine too much has changed here.” Despite what June had told her, she added silently. How much growth could there have been? Their population had only increased by twenty or so, according to the atlas she’d glanced at before leaving for the airport.

“You’d be surprised,” he said, turning toward the window that faced the front of the house. Snow began to fall languidly. How soon before that turned into a blizzard? “Tomorrow, weather permitting, I’ll take you around town so you can see for yourself.”

He made it sound like an all-day undertaking. She knew better. “What will we do with the other twenty-three and three-quarter hours?”

He laughed. “Hades has gotten bigger,” he insisted. “Really.”

She studied him for a moment, vaguely aware that his features had matured in a way that made him even better looking. “Is that pride I hear in your voice?”